


Nerd Charming

by wonderwheelzier



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25533856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderwheelzier/pseuds/wonderwheelzier
Summary: just a short, fluffy piece about kind-of-popular-girl el having a crush on nerd mike and them becoming partners for an english project
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 6
Kudos: 67





	Nerd Charming

El picked absently at her cookie as she gazed across the cafeteria. The general shouts of the room blended with whatever her friends were talking about, all of it white noise to her. She was completely in her own mind as she watched Mike Wheeler talk animatedly about something with his friends. She grinned subtly to herself as his face broke out in laughter. El loved how much of his face his smile took up. He had the brightest smile she had ever seen. She watched as he gestured to some garbage in front of his one friend, Will, and then took it, along with his own empty bag and napkins, to the garbage can in the middle of the aisle. God, he was so thoughtful. That was El’s favorite thing about Mike; he was just  _ nice _ . And his hair looked soft. And he was tall. And smart. And she liked the sound of his voice.

“I can’t believe that’s who you choose to drool over.” Max’s voice pulled El from her reverie. She lightly elbowed her friend, her cheeks burning red; none of their other friend’s knew about El’s crush, and she intended to keep it that way. They were all nice, but El was a private person, and while they were nice, they could also be loud, and they all talked to a lot of people. They weren’t snotty popular girls, but they were all looped in on school gossip. Hell, it was what they were talking about right then. El didn’t want to be the subject of any conversation like that, and she especially didn’t want news of her crush on Mike getting around. Luckily, all of the rest of the girls at their table were deeply engaged in whatever they were talking about, so they hadn’t heard. Still, El shushed Max when she said, “You know, Lucas and I share math notes sometimes, I bet I could wingman for you.”

“Stop,” El murmured, embarrassed.

“El, come on! You’re like ten leagues out of his league. He’d be over the fucking moon if he knew how bad you have it for him.”

“I’m not out of his league,” El said pointedly. Mike and his friends… were not popular. Honestly, El only knew all of their names because, after a week of freaking out over whether or not she should, she finally friended Mike on Facebook and may have looked through his pictures. El had heard a couple remarks about Mike here and there, had seen the boys who sat in the back of the classroom mocking him when he answered questions in their English class, and she didn’t like it when people said mean things about him, even if she knew Max was kidding. Max threw up her hands in surrender. “And what if he likes someone else? Like, there’s no reason he would like me. We’ve barely talked.”

“That’s where the wingman comes in!”

“No! And keep your voice down!” El looked furtively at Mike to find him listening intently to something Dustin Henderson was saying. 

In a staged whisper, Max said, “I just want you to do something for you! Take a risk!” When El just rubbed at her neck, folded in on herself, Max added in a softer voice, “El, he seems like a super sweet guy. Even on the 0.02% chance he does turn you down, I bet he’d be super nice about it. He’d probably buy you a pizza.” El grinned at that.

After a moment of silent contemplation, she gave Max a small, “Maybe.” Then she stuffed her cookie in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to say anything else on the subject.

\-----

English had always been El’s favorite subject. She loved getting lost in stories, loved watching them unfold, loved falling in love with characters. She loved mining for hidden meanings and making her own. It was the only subject that felt more like a hobby than work. And this year English was even better, because Mike was in her class. Sure, maybe she should’ve been happier that she had two friends in her class, sweet girls she ate lunch with and talked to. But she loved hearing what Mike had to say, and she sat a bit behind and beside him so she was free to watch him throughout the lecture without worrying about him catching her. The only time he looked at her was when she was answering a question, giving her take on the chapter they were discussing. She never felt so seen, so heard. He looked at her with genuine interest, and his eyes were so kind; they didn’t make her question herself, they made her feel even more confident in what she was saying.

They were finishing up the book they’d been reading, having finished for homework the night before. They’d had a test after finishing the first book of the year, but apparently their teacher felt like switching things up, as this time she assigned them a project as soon as class started. El listened intently and took notes as the teacher explained the project. It seemed fun; there were a few options to choose from, all of them creative. El’s heart stopped, however, when her teacher said that this was a pairs’ project, and that they would be picking their partners. Immediately, her eyes flew to Mike, but she quickly snapped them back to her notebook in case he saw. 

She thought about what Max said. She also thought about her grade. She didn’t want to brag, but she knew that she and Mike were the best two students in the class, the two who cared the most. So really, it was in her GPA’s interest  _ and  _ her heart’s interest to pair up with him.

Unfortunately, she had all of class to stew and overthink, because the teacher told them they’d have two minutes at the end of class to find partners. They went over the ending for most of the period, she and Mike answering most of the questions, as per usual. At one point her friend slipped her a note reading, “wanna ask if we can be a group of 3?” El blushed as she scribbled back, “I think I’m gonna ask Mike to be my partner, thanks though!” She added a smiley face and a heart for good measure.

Then it was the end of the period, and people were chatting with their friends and the people around them. El popped out of her seat and took a deep breath before tapping Mike on the shoulder. She fiddled with her hands and smiled at him as he looked up at her. God, his eyes were brown, and they had shades of amber and red in them, like his hair. “Hi,” she said softly. 

“Hey,” he smiled, like he was astounded to see her.

“Would you wanna be partners for the project?” she asked. Her heart was racing.

It took a moment, but soon he blurted out, “Yeah, that, that would be great!” He stumbled over his words a little bit, and El noticed a red color rising to his cheeks that made her heart flutter. 

“Are you free this weekend?” God, her heart was racing, she could hear her blood rushing in her ears. But Mike was beaming that beautiful smile, the one that always knocked her off her feet and made her think Taylor Swift may have known what she was talking about when she wrote that one line about a smile lighting up a whole town.

“Yeah!”

El grinned and bit her lip. “Great.”

Mike seemed to shake himself out of something and asked, “Can I uh, can I get your number? I can send you my address, I’ve got a basement so my mom and sisters won’t bother us.”

El nodded and fumbled to get out her phone. She unlocked it and handed it to Mike, watching as he entered his number into her phone. She couldn’t help but notice how pretty and slim his fingers were, how big his hands were. She wanted so badly to know how small her hand would look in his, how it would feel to have their fingers interlaced. It was only made worse when he handed her phone back to her and their hands brushed, making El’s breath stop. And then he  _ stood up  _ to gather his books and pack up his bag, and oh wow, he was even taller up close. El was the perfect height to rest her head on his chest, right in the crook of his neck. “So, I’ll see you this weekend?” he asked, a sweet smile on his lips.

“Yeah!” El nodded. “I’ll text you. So you have my number.”

Mike nodded and grinned at her. El wanted to stay frozen in that moment, but there were other students rushing around them now, and she had to pack up her bag and get to her next class. “Well, see you around,” Mike said with the cutest little wave El had ever seen.

She was floating on air as she walked to her next class. If other students jostled her, she didn’t notice. She was too busy imagining what it would be like to be alone with Mike Wheeler. God, she was nervous, but she also felt so giddy. She couldn’t wait to tell Max. Even more, she couldn’t wait for the weekend. 


End file.
